1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to protective equipment for sports participants and, more particularly, to a neck roll apparatus and method for protecting a sports participant against neck injuries.
2. The Prior Art
Football is a popular contact sport both for participants and spectators and is engaged in by various age groups and organizations. As a sport, football involves vigorous bodily contact so that each participant wears extensive protective equipment so as to reduce, to the extent possible, bodily injury. This protective equipment ranges between fitted helmets with face guards to special shoes. The protective equipment is designed to protect the body from injuries resulting from direct impact during the game. However, numerous injuries result from the force of impact being transmitted through the protective equipment to another part of the body, for example, by causing movement in a direction for which the body is not prepared. Serious knee, shoulder, arm, and neck injuries are sustained as a result of these kinds of forces.
Neck injuries are particularly dangerous because of the serious consequence to the player. Many neck injuries result from an impact to the head (although protected by a helmet) which forces the neck backwardly beyond its normal range of motion. This type of injury is particularly prevalent among football players who are designated as linemen and who plunge headfirst into the opposing linemen at the line of scrimmage. Typically, the helmet and shoulder pads absorb most of the forces received by the player but, on unfortunate occasions, the player's head/helmet is forced sharply backward beyond the normal range of motion of the neck causing injury to the player's neck.
In view of the foregoing it would be an advancement in the art to provide a protective device to reduce neck injuries. An even further advancement in the art would be to provide a neck roll which can be worn by the football player, the neck roll providing a cushion for the back of the neck to reduce injuries by restricting the backwardly oriented range of motion of the neck. Such a novel device and method is disclosed and claimed herein.